American Airpower Museum remembers Pearl Harbor attack with roses, tributes
Shortly after noon Sunday, a vintage United States Navy aircraft took off from the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale bound for the Statue of Liberty carrying three bouquets of roses.
There, the roses were dropped from the World War II-era plane. The gesture was part of the museum's commemoration of the Sunday 84 years ago that forever linked Dec. 7, 1941 with the darkest dates in U.S. history. That morning, squadrons of Japanese fighter planes rained bombs and bullets down on the U.S. Navy's Pacfic Fleet at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, killing 2,403 Americans in a surprise attack and spurring the country's entry into World War II.
The dropping of the roses was preceded by a ceremony at the museum conducted by the Long Island Air & Space Forces Association. Nearby, appropriately enough, sat a B-25 that flew in World War II. The bomber was key in U.S. air raids on Japan after Pearl Harbor under the direction of storied Army Air Corps Gen. Jimmy Doolittle.
Dominick Critelli, 104, an Army veteran who fought at the Battle of the Bulge, was among a handful of World War II vets in attendance Sunday at the American Airpower Museum's commemoration of the 84th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Bill Stratemeier, the association's chief of staff, said in an interview with Newsday that the event, which included a handful of World War II veterans in attendance, was designed to reaffirm the sacrifices made by members of the U.S. armed forces across the nation's history.
"It's slipping from our minds, from our consciousness," he said. "We have to remind generations, especially the younger generations, of the importance of what it means to be free Americans, the liberties we take for granted. It is because of the bloodshed, and the sacrifice, and the courage of young 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds."
The event was attended by dozens of veterans and their families. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, who also attended, told those assembled: "As a nation, all that we have, we owe to our veterans."
"Our freedoms today don't come easy," Romaine said. "They come from the sacrifices of others who put on the uniform of this country, defending our flag and the liberties inherent in this nation."
Rick Robinson, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, told Newsday he attended the event Sunday for the second year in a row.
"It's nice to be here with my fellow veterans," said Robinson, 59, of Islip.
Peter Papandrea, the director of compliance and resolution for the 106th Rescue Wing, a unit of the U.S. Air National Guard in Westhampton Beach said in an interview that "it was an honor and privilege" to be on hand Sunday.
"We have to honor the sacrifices that the previous generation made, and never forget that sacrifice," Papandrea, 41, of Merrick, said. "The best part was meeting the World War II veterans."
Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
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